OSU's 2011 Football Season in Call of Duty MW3

FYI- OSU is not Sandy Ravage, OSU is the other team getting pwned...

 

Time for change at OSU! Get fired up! OSU needs a new AD and Football coach!

WTF Video of the Day

Here's a video of Mike Riley explaining why OSU would lose to Sacramento State this year. If this doesn't make you puke, nothing will.

 

 Here's the highlight of what actually happened. Definitely puke worthy in my opinion.

 

WTF Quote of the Day

According to the Gazette Times Riley said there will be no changes to his coaching staff.

 “I’m not considering any,” Riley said Sunday night. “We have good coaches with a good solid background. They were consistent throughout the year with the adversity we faced. I have good people.”

  Read More This is really getting sad. Riley is in denial.

1990 part deux?

Riley has lost all credibility with his team and the fans. His kids play like idiots who haven't been coached before. 

Oregon wiped up the field with Oregon St today. It wasn't a game after the first embarrassing offensive series of the game. Final score was 49-21. Oregon racked up 670 yards on offense. 

There were so many mistakes by OSU coaches and players it's hard to analyze the game. 

One thing I can say was that the game today was an example of a "system coach" versus a "player's coach".  It was a fundamental battle. The players coach looked like a tool.

A system coached based football program puts the system above the player. If a player fails they are replaced until a competent replacement is found. In a players system, there is favoritism, undisciplined actions, and waves of success- if the program gets good players they win. 

Chip Kelly has a system, the players respond to the fact that they will be replaced if they don't execute. 

This is not the case with Oregon St. Sean Mannion should have been benched repeatedly this season and wasn't because "he is the future".  Sean wasn't the only inept player, and yes OSU had a lot of young players. But coaches know this, and they should scheme to manage this. OSU's coaches did nothing. They bungled the Katz to Mannion transition miserably.

Favorites in a program suck. Especially if they are freshman. This doesn't resonate with Seniors who have to live with a noob's mistakes and a team's poor record. 

Riley is flawed, and so is the program.  Riley tried to be a "players coach" in the NFL and failed miserably. He is failing now too.

I don't think the "players coach" model works in college. The system is tied to the program. The system is more important than the individuals who participate in the program. If the player is smart they will commit themselves to the system and succeed. This typically results in the team winning too.

OSU looked like buffoons on national TV today. If Ed Ray is not paying attention- he should. 

The next question is not about the players or the coordinators that should be fired, it's about who the next major OSU donor, who will step up like Al Reser and get rid of the current incompetent coaching staff.  Cash is the only carrot that works these days. It will take a lot of $$ to get rid of Riley- I think it's necessary. He could wipe out all of the success he helped create with continued failure.

* The 1990 reference in the title had to do with Dave Kragthorpe's last year when the OSU team was hopeless. I may post stuff on that season and the similarities to this year. 

Who cares about beating UW?

AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens

The beavers pulled out a nice win versus a wounded opponent. At home. After watching Riley up close at the Cal game, I'm not psyched about the direction of the program, even with the win against UW. Sac State. Think about it.

The Civil Ware is looming. Will OSU keep it close?

I am going to the game today

I'm going to the OSU vs Cal game today. I plan to get my drink on before the game. The game is at ATT park which is an awesome baseball park, but not a good football venue. The facility is awesome for partying though. There are tons of bars surrounding the stadium. 

I have no expectations for the game, but I am going to place some bets against the spread with some of my Cal buddies.

BTW- I got the tix for the game from a Cal alum who couldn't make it due to the fact he had to go shopping for furniture with his girlfriend today. LOL.

Cal fans take apathy to a whole new level. They are hilarious folks. One time I went to a Cal vs OSU game with a Cal alum and he bet against Cal. He routed for OSU through out the game- which really annoyed me. I think he was trying to do that on purpose.

Anyway I will let you know how the game goes today.......

Example of Energy

Energy

"In physics, energy (Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια energeia "activity, operation"[1]) is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems.[2][3] Since work is defined as a force acting through a distance (a length of space), energy is always equivalent to the ability to exert pulls or pushes against the basic forces of nature, along a path of a certain length."  Source: Wikipedia

If there is anyone out there who thinks the current coaching staff is energetic, let me know. As far as I can tell they are lost in space and embarrassing the university with their performance. Energetic behavior is not just about effort, efficient intelligence is also part of the program. Intuition/Quant/Qual skills are required. Boohoo. Life is tough.

I know this is harsh for some folks, but when you make $1M a year in salary the pressure is on. A 2-6 record shows a lack of energy on a monumental scale.

PS- I think the players are playing with energy- unfortunately misdirected by knucklehead coaches.

2-5, Beav's beat the Cougs 44-21

Comments on a nice road win for the Beavers:

Sean Mannion is young but looks like a promising Pac-12 QB. In a couple years he could be fantastic, assuming the INT's go away. Alternatively we could be looking at Derek Anderson Jr. = TD's + INT's. Sean's QB rating was 202 for this game. 

Agnew ran for 103, and didn't blow up his hammy. I'd like to get psyched about him, but hamstrings are brutal. Durability of this kid could be an issue for awhile. 

The defense held on and made plays throughout. Which is amazing given the lack of depth. 

Let's see if the Beavers can win their next game against Utah- this appears to be a very winnable game.  So does the Cal game. Stanford, UW and Oregon are going to be really tough games.

Maybe 4-8 is a best case scenario now. It's better than 1-11, that's for sure.

Apathy is setting in

Pic Source: dreamstime.com

I've been talking to OSU alumni this week, getting their take on the disaster known as OSU football. 

Almost all said that they don't care what happens for the rest of the year. Most didn't care who they were playing this week. They all said they feel that Riley's employment contract is a huge obstacle to change and there's nothing anyone can do.  They all said they were not going to contribute cash to the program.

My research is completely unscientific, but it seems that folks are pretty frustrated. The Sac State loss hurts the most.  It was a massive embarrassment that could have been forgotten had OSU won the next week. At 1-5, there is no getting over it.

Given that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, I can understand why alumn's don't want to care about the program. 

My prediction this week for those who do care- WSU. We could be looking at a 1-11 year. 

1-5

Impressive sorta, 38-28 BYU. Again, the kids at OSU played hard, not smart. I love the OSU players. They are not well coached. Period.

Quote me now. The next coach at OSU should be Bronco Mendenhall. As if the Bowl game was not enough, today was a resume delivery. DeCarolis is a down to earth guy. If this were a scenario in the Bronx ala Goodfellas, Bronco just declared his status as the man.

He might not want the job too. Given the dis' in '97 by Riley he might be a tough negotiator. Nonetheless, he continues to remind Riley that he made a mistake firing him. I kinda like that. 

My prediction for the BYU vs OSU game

Honestly, I have no clue. 

Raise your hand if you spent your valuable time recently watching BYU games on TV or YouTube. I haven't. At 1-4, who knows what OSU team will show up. 

But if this game was a MMA match, Bronco vs Mike, I'd take Bronco. 

OSU vs U of A commentary

I am glad OSU won. The kids needed it badly. Maybe they can get on a roll. Starting 0-4 makes the season what it is. Lemon-shit. Not lemonade, not a piece of shit. Lemon-shit. Let's say OSU wins out- I know that is remote, they finish 8-4, upsetting everyone along the way. What does that say if that did happen? The coaches don't know how to prepare for a season- again?

I am always encouraged that OSU's team comes back to play every week.  After yesterday's game, it really makes you wonder. Wait. Check that. I remember the concept of mediocrity.  The kids can play mediocre or better, can the coaches make it happen?

U of A coughed up the ball more than a kitten with hair balls. They made more bone headed plays than a 7 year old at the World Series of Poker.

Thankfully OSU remembered what a running game and luck is useful for and won. Enjoy it Beaver Nation. 

Go Cal!

I am rooting for Cal to beat Oregon tonight!

5 Turnovers doom OSU

I wasn't far off from my prediction, ASU won 35-20. The Beavers killed themselves as ASU did everything they could to keep OSU in the game. 

Mannion looks like he is going to be good some day. He has the physical tools,  but he can't look off WR's yet.  His 4 picks were catastrophic, just like the fumble last week against UCLA. 

The defense actually played good for awhile, they made some good plays,  and some horrific. 

These kids are trying hard, but they are not well coached. OSU had 12+ penalties along with the 5 TO's. The special teams missed kicks and allowed a punt return for a TD. 

That's called sloppy football. 

2nd Qtr, Not So Hot

21-13 ASU at the half. 

Comments:

ASU is trying to give this game to the Beavers

Mannion is staring at his first target every pass- it's easy mode for ASU DB's

OSU's defense is playing very well overall

Rusty Fernando had 2-3 sacks in the first half

Poyer could have been a hero tonight, but fumbled a key punt return

It seems like at any moment ASU is going to pull away, but they keep screwing up and giving the Beavers a chance. 

OSU plays it's best quarter of the year

The Beavers lead only 6-0 after ASU gave up 3 turnovers.  It should be 21-0, but the Beavers don't know how to close yet. 

Mannion has no ability at this point to look off WR's. He is staring at his target everytime he throws, it's painful to watch. That said, he's so predictable, he carried out a great play action fake to get the first 3rd down conversion of the game late in the 1st qtr. 

Wheaton is getting fed the ball and he is producing.

Poyer is playing out of his mind tonight. Absolutely dominating with 2 INT's. This kid is legit. 

ASU pre-game poll results

9 Votes

1 voter picked OSU to win

6 voted for ASU to win

2 voted for OSU to lose if it helped him get fired.

ASU game thoughts

Photo Source: Unathletic

The Beavers are traveling to Tempe to try and avoid an 0-4 start. The point spread is around  +18 ASU.  Agnew might play, Rogers is playing. Maybe it will be a close game.  Maybe ASU gets pass happy and blows out OSU.

Apparently none of the OSU coaches feel fan frustration with their performance this season.  I find this disturbing, but understandable. The coaches have to focus on what they can control. The fact that they are incompetent based on performance and fan opinion doesn't really matter. 

The Beavers have to get better from the coaches down to the training staff if they are going to win even one game this year. The question is what is Riley going to do about the situation? What if the Beavers start 0-4? 0-5? 0-6?

I believe there could be a fluke win or two this year, but that's all they will be, flukes. Damn shame. 

My prediction ASU 35- 14

*Please prove me wrong OSU

OSU Beaver Football Blog 5 Year

I just realized that this blog has been up for a whopping 5 years this month. The first post sorta went up Sept 6th 2006. 

The motivation for this blog was and is purely selfish. I am willing to admit that. While I know about the various forums for Beaver fans, I felt that I wanted my own voice. Maybe it resonates with you, maybe you think I suck. I don't really care. Just being honest.

I still want to say thanks to all of you who have put up with my rants and half cocked opinions through the years. Again, thanks for visiting.

I think the fan's and alumni opinions matter. I am not sure how much longer will continue posting stuff on OSU in the future, but thanks for coming here and reading. 

Cheers, OSUBFB

Beavers give away a winnable game...again

UCLA wins 27-19.  Box Score

After watching the slopfest known as Oregon State Football this afternoon, I have one comment- fire the entire coaching staff. Ok, given Riley's lifetime contract it's more likely that the OC/DC's could be history. But I doubt it will happen until after the season. 

UCLA has some good athletes, but OSU matched up well, and yet they found a way to make bonehead mistake after bonehead mistake. 

Blaming the youth of the OSU team is lame. There are plenty of coaching techniques to mitigate this fact. Every program goes through youth movements. Every perennial winner has it's best players taken early in the NFL draft, the difference is the coaching. And Money.  Money still defines success. 

This season only gets more difficult after UCLA. Yikes. 

It's do or die for the Beavers

The ramifications of this game are huge for the Beavers. Win and the team builds confidence. Lose and this season is going to be more brutal than it already is. 

If the Beavers win they can gather momentum for a tough ASU game away. Winning by 10 or 1 doesn't matter. Even if they lose by a point, it won't help the situation. 

There are no moral victories.  The Beavers need to win. 

Good news- James Rogers and joe Halahuni are supposed to play. I have no idea how healthy he really is,  but even at 90% of where he was before will be helpful. 

I am predicting an OSU victory, something in my gut tells me the Beavers will rally. Somehow. 

UCLA usually doesn't like playing in Corvallis. See below:



Kickoff is at 12:30 PDT. Unfortunately it won't start raining until the evening tomorrow. I am looking for help from all sources these days.......

OSU Cheer #4

Source: OSU

OSU Cheer #5

OSU Cheer #3

Source: Athlons

The feel good PR starts for Mannion

Photo Source: AP

Now that the coaching staff has made a firm decision as to who the QB will be for 2011, the PR campaign starts for the Katz replacement. 

As I stated in previous posts, the alternating QB strategy was weak. It was also weak that the coaching staff hadn't graded out their talent properly, which caused the lame situation to come to fruition. 

Now that Mannion is the starter, the Beaver Nation will have something to focus on other than the fact that the current OSU coaching staff is the real issue. 

 

UCLA better be a win for the Beavers. This season could be lost without a W. UCLA is not going to be an easy victory, the Beavers are going to have to dig deep. 

OSU Cheer #2

Winning....

Worst OSU vs Oregon pic ever

OSU Cheer

Who decided on the stupid plan?

Riley is now admitting the situational quarterback plan was lacking.

Really?

Who came up with this moronic plan in the first place? Hmmm. Sounds like a set up to me. Who do you think approved the plan?

This is like a cheap soap opera. 

Brandon Browner resurfaces

I was watching the SF Niners vs Seattle Seahawks game this afternoon and I saw a pleasant surprise on TV. I didn't catch his name until he was called on a lame roughing the kicker penalty, but it caught my attention. His current # is 39.

It was Brandon Browner, who left OSU after his Soph year. This year he has finally made a NFL team- the Seahawks. Congrats to him for such amazing perseverance. He has been bidding time in the CFL, this year seems to be it. I hope he sticks. 

Also, Quizz Rogers made the Atlanta Falcons squad. Congrats to him, he was probably right in leaving the OSU program when he did. 

Can you imagine Quizz at OSU now? 

Calling this football season a rebuilding year

I am not psyched, I am not confident about anything regarding the OSU program. I am disgusted. 

A rebuilding year? Really? 

Rebuilding could imply that you are replacing studs with more studs in a real football program. In OSU terms it means you suck and you've got to except sucking for the foreseeable future.

Reloading means you have a real program. For OSU it's called rebuilding because you suck. 

Riley's handling of the QB is a symptom

It's a much bigger problem. Mike Riley probably lost all credibility with his team after pulling some of the most bizarre coaching moves I've ever seen. Urban Meyer said the same and he's been around way longer than me.

Obviously Ryan Katz is a wreck mentally. But can you imagine being a player on the sideline or in the huddle and watching this stupid strategy unfold. I bet the wheels came off in practice this week. What we witnessed today was just a replay of practice. 

Riley's handling of the QB's is sign that he doesn't have any answers. A confident coach, a prepared coach, a coach with some fire, wouldn't do what he did today.

I really feel sorry for the OSU players. I think they are physically talented enough to at least compete.  Mentally they are weak. This is a direct result of Riley. 

Mike is a very nice person, but he has brought this on himself. I have a feeling that this is going to be an expensive divorce between OSU/Riley, it might not happen even if the team goes 2-9.

Even if OSU somehow turns around their season, the second half comeback that Riley teams are known for seems harder given their schedule + no above average athletes. A losing season is almost guaranteed. 

The Oregon St program is going in the wrong direction.

28-0 Wisconsin, early 3rd

Mike Riley is looking like the biggest failure on national tv this morning.

Urban Meyer is letting him have it. Riley deserves every bit of criticism he's got coming.

When Riley pulled Katz in the first series, and put in Mannion, he cemented his fate with the Beaver Nation. Riley's halftime explanation for the move was probably one of the stupidest ever. He said that he is going to use the QB's situationally. Yes, that means that the offense will be brutally predictable and easy to stop. It also makes rhythm impossible. Riley is switching QB's in mid series. Unreal.

Let's not even talk about the rest of the offense and it's deficiencies. The OSU o-line is so soft.

The porous OSU defense is completely demoralized by playing 18min in the first half and giving up 21 points. 

This is ugly. 

Wisconsin Prediction

Wisconsin- 38

Oregon State- 14

Wisconsin covers the spread. 

Oregon State is severely wounded and they got their ass kicked by a D-1 AA school last week.  OSU football is in disarray. With a QB controversy (media made- Katz is not the answer), on the road, in September, and injuries galore, the Beavers will get obliterated.

If the Beavers win, then all bet's are off and Sac State was an anomaly.  And my name is Warren Buffet.

What is up with the black uniforms ASU?

If anyone else is watching the Mizzu vs ASU game, did you get a load of ASU's uniforms? Really? 

This is getting ridiculous. Every team that has a hint of black is changing their uniforms to ALL black. This is a stupid trend. Has anyone seen the Green Bay Packers uniforms lately? Or Boise State? Really?

Oregon State's colors are black and orange. All black or all orange or a mix makes sense. 

I am sorry, but ASU's colors are not black. Erickson is trying to emulate OSU, since that is the last place he was successful at I guess.

*if I am using the term "really" too much, I am sorry this world is full of donkeys that never cease to surprise me.

PS- ASU is up 16-10 at halftime- maybe it's the uni's......

Agnew likely out for Wisconsin

Malcom Agnew, OSU's new RB star, reported that he heard a pop when he hurt his hamstring in practice yesterday. 

He has a history of hamstring problems, and in fact missed most of his senior year because of hamstring issues. 

Sorry to burst your enthusiasm Beaver Nation, this story could have an unhappy ending. I hope he is not seriously injured and can contribute for the rest of the year, the Beavers need his help. Hamstring injuries are brutal, one degree below rupturing your achilles. 

Mike Leach, really?

While I believe that Mike Riley has hit the wall with OSU, I don't think Mike Leach is the answer. This dude has issues. There a tons of Beaver Nation folks who think he is the answer, I disagree.

 Leach’s dismissal came after he was suspended by the university from coaching in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday for what it said was his mistreatment of one of his players, Adam James, a sophomore receiver who is the son of the ESPN broadcaster Craig James. Leach was accused of isolating James in an equipment garage and a media room while he was sitting out practice with a concussion. Texas Tech officials said that Leach’s actions, including not signing a letter spelling out guidelines for dealing with players, and his reaction to their investigation forced them to fire him. 

 Read More from the NYT

“He was simply fired because he mistreated a young student athlete with a concussion, and then refused to work with Tech to try to solve the situation. We’re confident that the Supreme Court will find that he doesn’t have a case factually or legally,” Grigg said. 

The latest on Leach's case and the Texas Supreme Court- Read More

During spring training in late March, Leach had demoted wide receiver Edward Britton for failure to regularly attend class and maintain good grades. Leach ordered Britton to study at a desk at midfield in 30-degree weather, albeit in a heavy coat. 

Read more from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Leach's Response:

At least our cheerleaders are hot

I am still trying to get over the Sac State game, I am starting to rationalize a brilliant OSU upset of Wisconsin. It could happen- right? Ok, I'll have another drink.

Anyway, the OSU Cheerleaders are getting MVP love in the latest OSUBFB poll. :) They deserve it! Yes, Agnew looks like the latest and greatest OSU RB MVP, but come on.

Source: Cal Bears Online

Honestly, there are not that many pics of Oregon State cheerleaders on the 'net...folks need to take more pics of them at the games and give these girls their props!

If you want pics of OSU's prior Playboy Playmates of the Year, you will have to go to another site.  

Lowlights from Saturday

More:

Looking for silver linings

Original Photo Source: AP

Beaver blogs are heaping praise on Malcom Agnew, who had a great statistical game Saturday. 

Fumbling the ball at a crucial time that contributed to your team's loss does not deserve admiration however.

It's great that Agnew is the nation's leading rusher. Running up 200+ against a D II team, that was 6-5 last year, is not that impressive in my opinion. 

Let's see how Agnew does against Wisconsin. Lord knows Langsdorf will have to feed him the ball. 

There is a chance that Agnew will get a bunch of yards against Wisconsin. It would be due the Beavers getting blown out and Wisconsin playing second string defensive players. 

Coach Zombie

As I stated in my prior post, Oregon State lost today because of Mike Riley(and his coaches). He had the ponies to win today and didn't. He embarrassed the university and alumni. Does he realize this? Or is he a zombie?

I am not sure. I am sure that there hasn't been a year Riley & Co has had the team prepared- hard schedule or not. Smell a trend? It's not an elephant, it's a corpse in the living room. 

To lose to a FCS school, like this, is unforgivable unless OSU goes to a BCS bowl this year. Then all is forgiven. 

Will OSU go BCS this year? Yes, as soon as I find an antidote for zombies. 

OSU's administration is going to have to do some real soul searching this off season regarding the head coach for football. My take is that Riley is not the answer. He has done a good job, but I think the run is over.

What do you think?

Katz vs Mannion

I didn't think this would even come up to be honest. Not at this point in the season.

It looks like Katz is a liability. Mannion is upside. 

Agree or disagree?

(Update- Riley has admitted to a closer competition between Mannion and Katz, but didn't want to go public and start a QB controversy. Which is possibly the stupidest thing I've ever heard of for dozens of reasons.) 

Ooops. The Beavers officially suck

Source: OregonLive/AP

Well my prediction was wrong. I did not expect Riley/Katz/Romaine/Coaches to suck as bad as they did in this game. Sac State just clowned Oregon State. The coaches are to blame in my opinion. Again.

Sac State was 6-5 last season. They are not even a D-1 school. Really? WTF? Agnew ran for a large number(233), which is impressive for a frosh. Other stats in the game were good, but it didn't matter. The Beavers made mental error after mental error in key situations. This means they were not prepared, a consistent theme under Mike Riley. He can't get his teams ready for a season on time- EVER. Yes, OSU's players need to make plays, but when a team makes as many self inflicted wounds as the Beavers did today, it's not the players.

 This game reminds me of 1990 against Montana. OSU just had a losing season, was supposedly rebuilding, had a cupcake opener and boom. Montana upset us. It was my first collegiate game, I had a few catches. One key first down catch I had in the 3rd quarter was called back because of a bonehead offensive lineman holding. We lost. It was so embarrassing, the team never recovered. Riley reminds me of Kragthorpe. Kragthorpe was the WORST motivator ever. His practice and pre-game speechs were horrible. They were actually de-motivating. Have you watched a Riley practice or pre-game speech on YouTube lately? It's beyond lame. What's going to happen the rest of the season for the Beavers? A lot of pain. It's going to be ugly, perhaps with some highlights sprinkled in. A losing season is damn near guaranteed.

The OSU players are not going to be able to get over this loss easily. They will be embarrassed on national TV, and the internet for losing to a FCS school for the week. Their lack of confidence is not good. Wisconsin is going to absolutely obliterate OSU unless they come out over confident and very sloppy, based on what I've seen from Wisconsin's coaching staff that is not likely. Box Score

Sac State prediction

Oregon State should win 35-7.

Reason why: better athletes

What will it take for Sac St to pull the upset? OSU's skill players choke and Sac St scores off multiple turnovers.

Odds of an upset? 1000 to 1

PS- Wisconsin looked very good against UNLV last night. OSU better put an ass whipping on Sac St to send a message and build confidence.Utah and ASU looked good too.Yes, I know that they played inferior schools, but still, they did what they were supposed to do.

Here's highlights from Wisconsin's win against UNLV:

Who is Coach Cavanaugh?

2010 OSU Beavers hype vid

Beaver highlight vid from 2008

Who is Coach Seumalo?

Who is Coach Locey?

Possibly the lamest college football vid ever

This may be a new series for this site. Thank god it's about UofO and not OSU. Someone spent hours making this stupid song and video.

What did the Beavers do this off season?

Who is Coach Langsdorf?

Who is Coach Heyward?

2011 Player interviews from camp

52% of you don't want to be Phil Knight's bitch any longer

The OSU Beaver Football Blog poll on whether or not OSU should drop Nike has closed. 

46 visitors let their opinion be known! 52% are done with being Phil Knight's bitch- congrats to those with self-esteem! Unfortunately, I have no influence on OSU's supplier relationships..... maybe you do?

Keys to the OSU 2011 Football season

There are lots of bloggers providing detailed analysis for each position on the Beaver Football team, here is my view on the situation......

Key #1- Katz needs to play above his so-far demonstrated abilities. If the OSU QB is average or weak- it's going to be a long season.

Key #2- OSU has to be able to run the ball. Whoever carries the rock needs to produce a team average of 4 yds or better.

Key #3- OSU's O-line needs to over achieve. Why overachieve? Because they suck based on last year's performance.

Key #4- OSU's entire defense needs to over achieve. There has been tons of blabber about different players having different skills, but if the overall team defensive stats are weak- I don't care what Cameron Collins 40 time is. Or how many tackles he had in a particular game. If OSU's defense is not Top 20- who gives a s**t?

Key #5- OSU's coaches need to make chicken salad out of chicken shit this year. They have to call excellent games week in and week out. OSU's talent level does not grant the luxury of foolish mistakes. I am not as concerned about the bodies the coaches put out on the field as much as the schemes they use and the plays they call.

Key #6- Health. The Beavers are thin across the board. A couple key injuries could make this year a catastrophy. With injuries it won't matter what the coaches do as far as play calls and schemes.

Injuries and ho hum

I have not been interested in blogging about the Beavers football team for awhile. There just doesn't seem to be anything interesting going on with OSU. Maybe I am not interested because my gut tells me this season is going to either suck or be a big surprise. Maybe Katz/Wheaton will go on fire and become unstoppable. Someone is going to have to step up big time this year.

The Beavers really don't have any stars on the squad this year and the guys they have are banged up. There doesn't seem to be any major upgrades on the o-line, which is scarry considering how bad the unit was last year. The defense is small and unproven. Specifically we have a safety/LB starting at CB who got lit up like a xmas tree last season. We have a 5'11" 225lb OLB, who is supposed to be good, but come on. I don't care how fast you are, today's game is about match ups. A 6'3" fast/athlete is going eat up a small LB. I don't care if the LB has a 40" vertical. He could match up well with small/fast RB's out of the back field, but if an opponent has a halfway decent QB he will audible to attack the weak point with 6'4" 300lb OL and 250lb TE's and 220lb FB's. 

Anyway, the DL is also a major question mark. Losing Paea is not a big deal to me, not having any producers besides him is. Everyone is a noob or historically a non-performer. There are a lot of negatives this team needs to overcome this season. 

Oh yeah, their schedule is frickin' brutal too. See the side bar of this blog. I've been complaining about this since the Beavers beat Notre Dame in a bowl(2008?)

Based on the votes for my preseason fan prediction poll- the majority of you feel less than enthused about the Beavers prospects going into this year. I can't say I blame you. 

As the first game gets closer I will post my prediction for the Beavers this season. Can you guess my prediction?

ESPN3 OSU vs UALR broadcast was cool

I just watched the game on my laptop, it was very cool. There was a little lag, but the experience was high quality. I had the Beavers game on my laptop and the Giants game on my LCD TV. This shit trips me out from time to time. I am young and tech is moving so quick, I need a breather just to digest whats out there. 

BTW- my kids decided to play Xbox Kinect Sports instead of watching the Giants- so turned on the trusty ol' school AM/FM hand radio to hear the play by play, and watch/listen to the Beavers game on my laptop. The kids worked up a huge sweat playing all the games, it was hilarious to watch them go at it.  

I am glad the Beavers won. They came back to win 7-4. They looked a little tight early on, but settled in to take the game.

I think Creighton is next up tomorrow.

Spring Ball/Baseball Update sorta

OSU's spring practice was a pretty dull affair. I haven't felt inspired to post anything because it has been so boring. I am on the fence whether this year's team will be okay or not. Based on the voting from visitors I am not the only one. My take away from spring was that there were some players who could definitely contribute, on offense and defense. I just don't see a healthy/cohesive group.

On another front, OSU's baseball team is having a spectacular season. They are ranked #2. Some kid named Dunn went for the cycle today! These kids are balling. I can't wait for the college world series! 

I am thinking about making this blog a vlog site. I am getting tired of typing my stupid opinions.....video seems so much easier. Maybe I should just switch from blogging all together. Just open a YouTube channel or something.....

27-7 = Ballers

OSU's baseball team is putting together one hell of a season. They are on fire. They just swept Stanford this weekend, for the first time. 

This is getting exciting! OSU is going to Omaha. 

I don't have any comments on the OSU spring practice, there's nothing interesting to report in my opinion. Check that, there is a WR noob making plays, which is good. But it's spring practice. Katz and Rogers are not healthy. Most of the activity is just moving bodies around. 

Coaching changes

Good news for the program, Riley is finally cleaning a little house.....errr Newhouse. I actually think Greg Newhouse is a good person and coach, he's done well for the program. But it is good see some moves before spring practice. 

Read more

Final Thoughts on OSU's Basketball Season

I watched the Arizona game last night. I watched Joe Burton. I don't know this kid, but I'd say he's got issues. Physically he is a really big guy, mentally he is a 2 yr old. Yes, the Arizona players got physical with him, but I saw him grabbing/pushing the entire time he was on the court. I saw him turn the ball over. Shit, I saw lot's of amazingly stupid plays by OSU players- I don't want to single out Burton. But if I played for Arizona I would have literally kicked him in the balls(I think one AZ player grabbed them...oh well). Arizona's 3 pt trifecta completely deflated OSU at the start of the second half. The whole thing felt like AZ imposed it's will on OSU and OSU accepted the imposition.

Cunningham looked good, but again mentally weak. How do you forget to stay hydrated between games? Come on man.....

I still think CR is not the right guy. The team reflects him. 'nuff said. 

OSU's football team has injury issues coming into this spring. Katz is out, Rogers is out, Bishop is out. Geez. I guess it's good that other kids will get reps. 

Nike Store- HQ report 2

After the Civil War I reported that the Nike Store at Nike HQ was inundated with University of Oregon gear. I wrote it off because Oregon was in the Rose Bowl. 

Now, report 2. It's March 2011. Oregon's basketball team or any other sport, is not in national championship contention- that I know of.

Guess what the merchandise mix is in the Nike Store at Nike HQ? 

99% University of Oregon

1%- one OSU sweatshirt and one visor to be specific- I will publish the items as soon as I get them in a good light.

BTW- Nike doesn't allow anyone to take pics of their campus store- I tried to get them, but failed.

Don't forget to vote on whether OSU should drop Nike or not. The poll is on the right side of this blog.

BTW- Did I mention the University of Oregon is under investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations?

OSU doesn't need Nike, or it's UofO connections. Distance is a good idea right now. What if Phil Knight get's implicated with recruiting violations? OSU doesn't need to associate with an organization like Nike. 

6 Players? Really?

As I said after the last loss to Oregon, Craig Robinson has lost his team. This ship has sank. OSU fielded half a team in an embarrassing loss to ASU. 

The burning question is whether or not De Carolis takes care of business and fires CR. If he lets this go on, we will see another embarrassing result similar to OSU's women's team. 

Having to discipline half your team after this year's pathetic performance is a really bad sign. These kids are probably good kids, clearly they don't respect their coach.

(photo source: AP)

Paea shines, Quizz not so much

Paea breaks the all time bench press record for the NFL combine:


Stephen is projected to be a late first round draft pick. There is no shortage of teams that need someone who can stuff the middle like Stephen can. Too bad his teammates at OSU were so lacking last year, Paea is a rare specimen that wasn't exploited enough.

I stated previously that I thought it was a bad idea for Quizz Rogers to leave early. I still believe he would have gained more getting his degree and finishing his career strong. Quizz ran a 4.64 40 yard dash at the combine this weekend, which is not horrible, but not that great. Usually players prepare to run their very best 40 time at the combine, if this is Quizz's best, he probably runs a 4.7 on average. This explains why there weren't many break away runs during his highly productive college career. The NFL network is projecting Quizz to get drafted in the 3-4 rounds, and NFL Spin Zone did research on the success rate of players drafted in those rounds- 46% of the players are successful. However, a much smaller % who were successful were RB's. The research based success on 4 yrs in the league, starting 1 or more games, not starting but contributing. I don't think Quizz won't get drafted, but I do think it will be a mid-late round pick. A team will give him a shot just like they did with Frank Gore or Leon Washington. The question is whether or not Quizz will be durable when 300lb'ers slam him repeatedly since he doesn't have the speed to avoid pain trains. Quizz is great at making shifty moves ala Barry Sanders, but unlike Barry- Quizz can't outrun danger. Barry ran a legit 4.3. Even if Quizz gets shifty inside the tackles, he will get blasted by LB's and DB's. Unlike college, NFL LB's are consistently vicious. That said, Quizz is young and probably hungry(not having a degree will help that).

Old video about Phil Knight and Oregon

Here's an old clip detailing what we already know about Phil's relationship with UofO:


Here's a good one about Nike from Michael Moore:


Oregon State doesn't need Nike. By using Nike OSU demonstrates subservience. There are other vendors- Adidas or Under Armour works for me.

Questions for Spring Ball

We are about 30 days away from Spring Practice and there are a lot of questions that need answering. 

1)Will Ryan Katz step up his game and be dominant force? 

2)Will someone(anyone) step up on offense to be leader? 

3)Will the defense produce some dominate players?

4)Will the noobs gel on the team or will we see selfish short term attitudes? 

5)Will OSU find a RB? 

6)Will OSU find a squad of stud LB's? 

7)Will the offensive line produce? 

8)Will OSU find a game changing WR? (J. Rogers will not be the same after he comes back)

9)Will Langsdorf learn how to call plays? 

10)Will OSU drop Nike? 

There are a lot of questions that need addressing if this program is going to do something. 

I am not psyched about the fact that OSU is an underdog as much as other folks. I think after 2006-2009 there would be a foundation for dominance, but 2010 proved otherwise. 

OSU men's hoops really sucks

There are so many bloggers posting about the OSU men's hoops team this winter. Everyone is pretty down on Craig Robinson. It's apparent that this year's weak performance is a result of poor coaching. There are a million reasons why OSU's team is getting creamed routinely, but the main one has to fall on the coach.

The latest nail in CR's coffin- losing 83-62 to your main rival. CR has lost his momentum in rebuilding this program, after 3 years he is running out of time. Will OSU's AD make a change? I doubt it. He will make a change once all the damage is really done. Kinda like he did with women's hoops.

OSU's baseball team won their first game of the year over Gonzaga in extra innings. Nice to see them start with a hard fought win.

OSU's football squad is starting spring practice next month, I hope these kids have put time in the weight room, especially on the o-line.

I don't know about you but I have some built up anger from this past football season, this weak hoops season,etc. If I was playing football at OSU I would have a chip on my shoulder and an itchy trigger finger.

PS- OSU still needs to get rid of Nike. Everytime I see that swoosh it pisses me off.

My Idols

I can't rank these guys, they are just people who inspired me. Perhaps these guys are profiles for OSU recruiting, I don't know.

Jerry Rice:


Barry Sanders:

Football Recruiting Update

Tomorrow is the big day. I've been paying attention to the media reports on OSU's progress and reviews on past classes.

OSU is expecting a really good class of new recruits- we shall see.

ESPN continues to to highlight the fact that recruiting rankings don't mean much. Riley is going to need to deliver this year.

OSU men's hoops

I was at Shanghai Kelly's in SF last night and the Cal v OSU game was on. Thank god SK had great beer flowing, it numbed the pain of watching the game.

A few thoughts-

1)OSU needs players who make a frickin' jump shot from the free throw line. At a minimum. I watched the Oregon game too, and yes I haven't watched every game- but these guys cannot shoot. They missed so many easy shots last night it was embarrassing.

2)OSU needs players who can stay in control at high speeds. The current squad seems proficient in turnovers, bad passes, and horrible shot selection. Defense is okay, yet inconsistent. It appears that the game is moving too fast for them.

3)Robinson needs to coach harder and faster. How many .500 seasons will cut it before fan pressure kicks in? Better question- how long can he milk the Presidential angle?

Oregon State should drop Nike now Pt 2

Press play after the video loads. This was published Dec 15th 2010. Why is OSU supplied by Nike??? In future posts I will outline how I would handle this situation to the benefit of Oregon State and end OSU's subservient position to Phil Knight and the University of Oregon.

Also, last spring the Oregon Attorney General forced Nike to publish their contract with UofO publicly. Read More Here

Who is the next RB?

Ken Simonton, Steven Jackson, Yvenson Bernard and Quizz Rogers.

Who is going to be the next producer for OSU?

The current roster:

34 Jenkins, Jordan RB 6-1 211 JR

22 Marable, Malcolm RB 5-7 157 lbs SO

24 McCants, Ryan RB 6-1 228 lbs SR

19 Stevenson, Jovan RB 5-11 186 lbs JR

42 York, Clayton FB 6-0 225 lbs JR

36 Parsons, Dylan FB 5-9 202 lbs RS SO

Incoming:

Storms Woods, RB, 5-11 205 lbs
Malcom Agnew, RB, 5-9 180 lbs
Terron Ward, RB, 5-7 185 lbs


I think there are a lot of question marks unless Ryan McCants steps up as the man....

*yes, said the same thing 3 years ago

Dave Brandon never called me, I'm hurt

Yesterday's announcement that Michigan hired Brady Hoke as their new head coach was really awesome. I am really proud of him. I played at OSU when Brady was the linebacker coach, and everything you are reading about him is completely true. He is a player's coach, but he is also a disciplinarian. A great combo. He's also a rock solid transparent person who rallies players around him.

Dave Brandon is the AD at Michigan who hired Brady, stated that he did his own background checks- all the feedback was the same.

Dave didn't call me(why would he-lol), but I will attest that Brady is a great coach and will probably do a great job at Michigan.

Good luck Coach Hoke!

Phil Knight, I mean University of Oregon loses BCS

Auburn wins on a last second field goal 22-19.

Oregon played great. Their uniforms looked awesome.

Brandon Browner Part II

Jacquizz Rodgers will enter the NFL draft

This is a dumb decision by Quizz, unless he already has his degree. Even then, he should have stayed in school and enrolled in graduate classes.

Based on this video I don't think an education is very important to Quizz. Oh well.

(UPDATE) Quizz apparently asked the NFLPA for a projection of where he might go in the draft, this information made him comfortable enough to leave OSU. Maybe Quizz will get drafted high, but I doubt it.

(UPDATE Pt 2)

Here is a projection from WalterFootball.com

Quizz Rodgers*, RB, Oregon State
Height: 5-7. Weight: 191.
Projected 40 Time: 4.45.
Projected Round (2011): 4-6.

CBS Sports projection:

Overall rank: 99

Position rank: 9

Ht: 5-07

Wt: 192

Round Projection: 3-4

40 Time: 4.49

Kudo's to OSU's Men's Hoops

Not only did OSU beat both Arizona schools this weekend, but they were also ESPN Top 10 plays of the day twice!!

The OSU hoops squad is only 7-6, but this weekend's wins were huge in building confidence for the rest of the season.

Congrats ballers!

Oregon State's weird season rolls on